Incredible news, it is possible to put up to 2 bikes on every Laval bus, including the amazing bus 9, that goes from métro Montmorency all the way to St. Jérôme, connecting with the famous P'tit Train du Nord, a 200 km converted railtrack which is now a lovely bike path and cross-country ski path in winter! The only thing is, you'll have to wait till April because the service is only possible from April till the end of October.

I tested the service but got off before St. Jérôme in Ste. Thérèse. This system works really well and made the whole trip enjoyable as a result! It is easy to put your bike on the orange line and doesn't cost extra, but be very sure to avoid rush hour as well as the many summer festivals during which it's not authorized. There are many elevators in the Montmorency metro station which makes it easy. When you get up to the exit, just go outside, and go left not very long and you'll see all the buses. Bus 9 is fairly frequent and it also doesn't cost extra to put your bike on. You have to follow directions on the bike rack on the front of the bus to unfold it and hook your bike in. You can do this on any bus, all the time except the service ends at 9:30 pm or 7:30 pm depending on the time of year. Here's the link to the explanation in French: http://www.citl.amt.qc.ca/velo-bus/_derived/velobus.pdf You can check out the CITL website for schedules. It cost me $4.25 each way, then remember you have to pay $3 cash to get back into the Montmorency metro (or any Laval metro). I paid right in the bus. You'll need to have exact change.

The Route verte 2 runs through Ste-Thérèse and goes all the way to St-Jérome. It was easy to find in Ste-Thérèse but didn't correspond to any map I had previously. I found it at the end of the bus station, by crossing the tracks. It is easy to follow, but watch out for a couple of spots where you'll have to really follow the signs and not just where the bike path appears to go. Then the path runs beside the tracks, and is fenced in - a bit suburban-feeling for this part. Things got rural and nicer around Mirabel. It's quite flat but slightly uphill and 22 km - quite tiring! Also, the wind was against me in this direction. It took about 2 hours in all.

I was thrilled to arrive in St-Jérome where the trail goes right to the current bus station, which is just beside the commuter train (which also takes bikes but doesn't run when I'd need it) just a few hundred metres from the old historic train station and the beginning of the P'tit train du nord. It really feels like this is the hub of alternative transit - bike paths, ski paths, bike-friendly commuter train and buses all converge here. Amazing!

Then the P'tit Train du Nord goes uphill into the Laurentians. Only 16 km till Prévost and great hiking - something to try next season!

Saturday, 22 October 2011

Today I biked from Longueuil metro station all the way to Chambly, on the Route Verte no. 1. It's about 25 km each way, which is about as far as I usually ride on my clunky city bike, and takes about 2 hours each way. I really love testing out new 'car-free adventures' out of Montreal, and it was quite satisfying to actually go somewhere that seems far from Montreal. The above photo is the amazing start of a bike bridge that goes over the train tracks and highway, and was actually the highlight of the whole ride, for me. There was a really interesting view of the tracks with the Mountain in the background, and the way down was a bit like an amusement ride!

The Route Verte is an amazing, ever-increasing network of high quality bike trails all across Quebec. You can go pretty much as far as you can imagine on these trails. We followed Route Verte number 1 for most of the way to Chambly. It was fairly straightforward although it was a bit tricky and easy to lose coming out of the metro station. Here's the map we used, which was really helpful, though we also had to keep track of the general direction and landmarks: http://www.tourisme-monteregie.qc.ca/cyclotourisme/pdf/pistes_cyclables/LaRiveraine.pdf

The disadvantage of this route is that you have to take two different metro lines (up and down many stairs and escalators with a bike is not the easiest). Might be better to just bike through Montreal and across the Jacques Cartier bridge, and perhaps you'd already be on an easier path to follow. We also found that at least the first third of the ride was through uninteresting suburban parts of Longueuil.

But once we got out of Longueuil, things got nice. We went through forest, fields, and behind country houses with charming bridges across a small stream separating them from the bike path. We saw a woodpecker, bluejay, and some edible wild mushrooms - shaggy mane and puffballs.

Chambly is pretty fabulous to bike in. The paths are in mint condition, with many charming places to stop and have a picnic. Then there is so much to see in Chambly - the fort, which changed hands many times between the French and the English, right on the rapids of the Richelieu River, where we ran into some friends who were kayaking. We went for hot chocolate and then admired the many old and historically-significant buildings, canals, locks, churches etc. all along the waterfront.

The way back was a slog, since we had already seen the 'good parts' and the wind was against us. But I was proud to have biked all the way to Chambly and back! Getting to Chambly door to door from the Plateau by metro and bike takes about 2 and a half hours, not bad compared to taking a metro and then a local bus, which takes an hour and a half or two hours depending on where you get dropped off. You can find many other maps of biking in Montérégie here: http://www.tourisme-monteregie.qc.ca/cyclotourisme/ - for free!

I have to confess, I didn't take this photo yesterday evening - it was dark by the time we got up to the lake! But I did take it at Beaver Lake last week, where you can see both Mallard Ducks and Wood Ducks - birders, please feel free to correct me! Up at Beaver Lake, we could see that the park was getting ready for winter. The 'lake' (actually a pond) was drained to a low level so that it will be able to freeze in winter and become an extensive skating rink in a natural setting. The park had also done some work getting the elevated, refrigerated skating rink prepared. This smaller rink just beside Beaver Lake is often open when all the other outdoor rinks are closed due to above zero temperatures. And bus 11 goes right beside the Beaver Lake Pavilion! I should also mention that they rent skates, snowshoes AND cross-country skis up there, and that there are great, free, tracked ski trails. We got a foretaste of winter yesterday before the walk. At around 4:30 pm, there were high winds, thunder, lightening, hail, and literally buckets of water. I have rarely seen such heavy rain here in Montreal. By 6 pm there was only some light rain left. Two tenacious walkers decided to try their luck so we had a nice walk up to Beaver Lake and back down. It's getting darker and darker every Thursday but it's amazing how many people are out walking, jogging and biking on the Mountain anyway. See you next week!

Just announced! Parks Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship have partnered to give free access to recent Canadian citizens to visit each of Canada’s federal parks and national historic sites (once each) for one year. You’ll need to register for a free Cultural Access Pass first. See http://icc-icc.ca/en/cap/parks.php for details.

Up at the cute, rustic cabin, we dumped our bags and continued on, exploring the Montagne Blanche trails, mostly for snowshoeing so a bit harder to find. Nice views of the lake from the top. Back at the cabin, the temperature had risen steadily with the wood stove, until it felt like a sauna! Two of us actually went for an extremely quick dip in the lake – refreshing!! Then a delicious meal of couscous and merguez, animated discussions and a rousing game of Insidious 7s, a card game designed by one of our very own hikers!

Unfortunately, the rain started for real on the way back, but just enough to get us hiking at a good pace. The real rain started once we were in the cars on the way back. Thanks to all for a great weekend – it was lots of fun to meet all of you!!